Thermal Imaging of Exercise-Associated Skin Temperature Changes in Swimmers Subjected to 2-min Intensive Exercise on a VASA Swim Bench Ergometer

Abstract

An important element of swimming training is the improvement of muscle strength and the technique of swimming movements on dry land. The heat generated by the muscles involved in the effort contributes to a change in the temperature of the skin surface, which can be assessed by the IRT method. The aim of the study was to assess the symmetry and dynamics of changes in surface temperatures of selected areas of the body in swimmers after exercise on a swimming ergometer with the use of IRT. A total of 12 swimmers (aged 19 ± 1.3 years) completed a two-minute stress test (front crawl swimming movements) using a VASA Swim Ergometer, with a load of 5. Using an IRT camera (FLIR E60), postexercise changes in back and upper limbs surface temperature in relation to the resting values were observed. After exercise, the temperature value of all assessed areas decreased, apparently in the area of the back and the back of the arms, returning to the baseline values after 12 min of observation. There was no asymmetry in mean temperature values between the right and left upper limbs. IRT is a noninvasive and sensitive tool for the individual analysis of changes in body surface temperature in swimmers after training on dry land.

Temporal Skin Temperature as an Indicator of Cardiorespiratory Fitness Assessed with Selected Methods

“…The results of the study presented in this paper confirm the previous findings that during a few minutes of intense physical exercise, the body surface temperature decreases [24,39,40], which is linked to vasoconstriction of the vessels of cutaneous circulation and consequently to a decrease in blood flow in cutaneous circulation [24,39]. Furthermore, the results presented herein indicate that the level of cardiovascular fitness is related to the magnitude of the decrease in temporal temperature during an effort of 110%Pmax lasting a few minutes.…”

Determination of the Effects of a Series of Ten Whole-Body Cryostimulation Sessions on Physiological Responses to Exercise and Skin Temperature Behavior following Exercise in Elite Athletes

“…A thermogram analysis revealed that a greater drop in skin temperature was noted immediately after exercise, and it concerned areas that were less involved in the exercise work. A similar decrease in temperature in all analyzed body areas was recorded immediately after intense effort [95,98], while in a study by Tanda [36], significant differences in skin temperature were observed over areas located above the groups of muscles which were active or non-active during exercise. The variation in skin temperature depending on the location (over active vs. inactive muscle groups during exercise) may support the statement that this effect could be associated with a different load on the musculoskeletal system, a difference in the efficiency of heat dissipation during exercise and the metabolic production of heat which occurs in working muscles compared to inactive muscles [75,94,95,99,100].…”

“…Recently, assessments of the legs and hips [79,111] have recorded changes in skin temperature of above 1 • C in the contralateral part after physical exertion. Likewise, Knyszy ńska et al [98] saw an increase in the post-exercise temperature asymmetry in a group of swimmers. Interestingly, when assessing bilateral changes in skin temperature using the IRT method after symmetrical and asymmetrical exercises in professional rowers and handball players, the authors of [112] proved that the bilateral post-exercise skin temperatures of the symmetrical front and rear sides of the arm, forearm, thigh and trunk exhibit features of temperature asymmetry which, however, fall within the range of normal values.…”

Possibility of using therapeutic massage in rehabilitation after covid-19

“…Podstawową ich zaletą jest całkowicie nieinwazyjny charakter oraz brak jakichkolwiek skutków ubocznych dla pacjenta, a co za tym idzie możliwość wielokrotnego powtarzania pomiarów bez szkody dla badanego [8]. Thermovision is one of the most useful tools for that purpose, because it allows to assess the effectiveness of the single procedure and gives the opportunity to follow and assess serial procedures not only in medicine [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], but also in the practice of biological regeneration in athletes [27][28][29][30][31].…”